Economics & Employment

• Middlesex County farms sold more than $65 million worth of agricultural products in 2002 or 12 percent of the state's total.
• 1755 workers are employed on 149 farms in Middlesex County. 766 of those workers worked on farms 150 days or more during the year.
• Middlesex County farms paid more than $15.4 million in wages to workers in 2002, the highest county agricultural payroll in the state.
• A little more than half of Middlesex County farm operators report farming as their principle occupation. The remainder report principle occupations off the farm.
• The average Middlesex County farmer is 54.8 years old and has operated his or her farm for 24 years.
• The vast majority of Middlesex County farms are family owned and operated, including sole proprietorships, partnerships and family-held corporations.

Crops

• The major commodity group in Middlesex County is nursery and greenhouse crops.

• The second largest commodity group is vegetables followed by fruits and berries.

National Rank

• Middlesex County ranks 17th among all counties in the United States for the value of direct sales of agricultural products to consumers at nearly $3 million or 15 percent of the state's total.

Sources: New England Agricultural Statistics, 2006; and U.S. Census of Agriculture, 2002
Compiled by: Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.